The stupendous Aeterna High Jewellery collection exudes an unmatched richness that is firmly anchored in Bvlgari’s storied 140-year legacy, while embracing a timeless yet contemporary aesthetic synonymous with the house. It boasts over 500 creations, including high jewellery, watches, bags, and fragrances in bejewelled bottles inspired by Rome’s eternal beauty.
This magnum opus represents the pinnacle of the jeweller’s phenomenal artistry by masterfully combining gems, time, precious skins, and olfactive emotions. With boundless creativity and exceptional craftsmanship, Aeterna embodies Bvlgari’s talent for capturing the essence of each era, taking you on a journey through its ever-evolving creative and aesthetic codes. Symbolising the past and the promise of a bright future, each piece stands as a precious fragment of eternity, honouring the remarkable gems nature has forged over millennia.
The collection was revealed during a star-studded event in May at the Terme di Diocleziano museum, once the largest public bath complex in Imperial Rome. The grand affair marked the first-ever major private event at one of the world’s most extraordinary ancient architectural sites, thanks to the partnership between the Italian Culture Ministry and Fondazione Bvlgari.
Among the Aeterna collection’s most significant works is the Serpenti Aeterna necklace that’s valued at 40 million euros (S$58.6 million). To create the house’s most precious high jewellery piece to date, a rough diamond weighing over 200 cts was cut into seven D flawless pear-shaped diamond drops totalling 140 cts—one for each year of the jeweller’s existence. Adding to the challenge, each stone was incorporated into a sinuous 3D platinum wave-like structure further embellished with 698 baguette diamonds weighing 61.81 cts.
Taking over 2,800 hours to complete, the necklace embodies Bvlgari’s unmatched expertise with gemstones. In addition to symbolising eternity, the diamonds also highlight the house’s commitment to pushing boundaries and surprising clients. In this instance, Bvlgari celebrates 140 years by giving diamonds the leading role instead of colour gemstones, as many would expect.
It took two years to procure the Sri Lankan sapphires cut into the 13 cushion-cut gems on the opulent Sapphire Brocade necklace. Inspired by the sumptuous textiles found in Roman palazzos, this supple number with corresponding earrings is designed to sit around the neck with lightness.
A total of 63.48 cts of diamonds and sapphires are matched with buff-top emeralds in a colour combination that is uniquely Bvlgari. Revisiting the Chandra line from the exuberant 1980s is the striking Aurea Chandra choker. Five rows of alternating pink gold and pavé-set diamond spheres encircle the neck in a feather-light, eye-catching construction symbolising the cyclical nature of creativity and its celestial nature.
Next, the modernity of the house’s iconic Tubogas meets the romance of a floral motif engraved on a stunning 31.07-ct oval Zambian emerald in the Tubogas Flower of Time necklace. Sixteen buff-top rubellites and diamonds further enhance the visual feast. It is complemented by matching drop earrings featuring cabochon rubellites, buff-top emeralds, and pavé diamonds.
Boasting sinuous lines depicting the shape of a lotus flower, the symbol of eternal rebirth, the Bvlgari Lotus Cabochon necklace delights with its flamboyant colours and intriguing pebble-like texture. With cabochons of rubellites, turquoise, emeralds, and amethysts set on a carpet-like gold base for a plush effect, this audacious creation resembles a collar.
Weighing 37.34 cts each, the Sri Lankan pear-cut sapphire pendants on the Serpenti Sapphire Echo necklace come from a pair of 1930s Bvlgari earrings an Italian noblewoman sold back to the Roman jeweller. The precious blue gems on the double-headed white gold snake, festooned with diamonds and buff-top sapphires, can be detached and worn as earrings, showcasing Bvlgari’s expertise in transformable jewellery.
The Augustus Aeternus Emerald Monete sautoir celebrates the house’s Roman origins and heritage by melding the past and present beautifully. Minted during the reign of Tiberius, the rare imperial bronze coin depicts the profile of the first Roman emperor, Augustus, who commissioned the building of the Ara Pacis, as well as his mausoleum that now faces the new Bvlgari Hotel in Rome. This creation features 149 identical emerald beads weighing a hefty 615.04 cts, 80 buff-top emeralds, and pavé diamonds.
High jewellery watches in the Aeterna collection also reflect Bvlgari’s unparalleled creativity. Aptly named Fuochi d’Artificio (Italian for fireworks), the range of five women’s timepieces and a sole men’s model reflects the joyous atmosphere of a starry Italian summer night, replete with vibrant motifs in a burst of colours.
The women’s watches feature the watch industry’s smallest round mechanical movement, the Piccolissimo calibre. On a rose gold and blue titanium semi-rigid cuff, the Fuochi d’Artificio High-Jewelry Manchette features precious gems set as an explosion of fireworks. It took more than 1,450 hours to complete, including the careful selection of diamonds and gemstones, and the cutting and polishing of onyx inserts.
The product of over 3,000 hours’ work, the Fenice High-Jewelry Watch flaunts more than 160 cts of gems, such as blue, pink, and purple sapphires, amethysts, rubies, pink garnets, tanzanites, iolites, aquamarines, and diamonds, to create its incredible degradé effect in rainbow hues.
This secret watch boasts a rare 9.78-ct Paraiba tourmaline that conceals the dial. The mythical bird’s flexible feathers wrap around the wrist gracefully, thanks to a unique openwork construction that gives the illusion that its wings are spreading to get ready to soar. The magnificence of the phoenix is accentuated by rays representing the light of resurrection, which are inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s altarpiece at the Santa Maria della Vittoria church in Rome.
